Plymouth's love for the game

Friday

A former North Lenoir basketball player stays connected through officiating.

Watching a basketball game is so much different for Shannon Plymouth now than when she played on North Lenoir’s court nearly 10 years ago.

As a Hawk, her focus was play action. As an official — she has to view the game with a new set of eyes.

Plymouth became a referee in 2007 after being introduced to it through playing intramural basketball in college.

By officiating, she stays connected to the game and involved in the basketball community.

“Sometimes, I do get caught up more in the game and defer back to being a player,” said Plymouth, a 2005North Lenoir graduate. “(Officiating) is kind of hard, especially coming from a player’s standpoint. It’s not about us and refereeing; it’s about the players. You want to make sure it’s fair to the players because they’re growing, too.”

Plymouth began playing basketball in her backyard at 7-years old. From recreation league, she moved up through the ranks to Frink Middle School and finally North Lenoir.

She attended Winston-Salem State University to study nursing and graduated in 2009. Though not joining the school’s basketball team, she played with a travel team during her time as a WSSU Ram.

“You learn a lot of different values playing on a basketball team,” the 26-year-old Plymouth said. “(Playing basketball) was exuberating, exciting, and it was a good, refreshing feeling to be able to represent your school in athletics.”

She formed friendships playing the team sport all four years at North Lenoir and then later in college. As a Hawk, she played a year on junior varsity before joining the bigsquad.

“She’s always been fun to coach,” said Howard Whooley, NL’s current JV boys’ basketball coach and Plymouth’s former coach. “The main reason is she’s always been talented. She has a good understanding of the game, and playing the game became easy for her.”

Whooley said Plymouth had “explosive” scoring abilities and always wanted to perform correctly on the court.

He added she simply loves the sport.

“She loves being a part of it,” Whooley said of his former player. “I think (officiating) is excellent. She’s one who I can see always being part of the game.”

Officiating and the challenges

While Whooley recognizes the dedication of his former player, a female ref is difficult for some to overlook.

Plymouth said her gender brings challenges to the job.

“You have to really stand your ground and let the coaches know, ‘I’m an equal here,’ ” she said. “You have to have a strong stature when you’re making calls. Running up and down the court, you have to be big.”

Plymouth puts an “S on my chest” during each game to let others know she means business.

While Plymouth looks to become a nurse practitioner, the idea of refereeing at a collegiate level has grazed her mind over the months.

But it’ll take time.

For now she looks to pursue her nursing career on one hand and work on mechanics with the other — literally.

“It’s hard because a lot of the time I’m watching the players and watching the game, but I’m also watching the action of the referees,” said Plymouth, a UNC basketball fan, about viewing contests on television. “I’m trying to learn new mechanics and new play calls. It takes away from watching the game a little bit, but I have to split my attention.”

While learning all she can about refereeing, being a former player gives her a unique perspective. Many of her fellow officials were former players themselves or were even whistling her when she played at North Lenoir.

As veteran refs have watched players literally grow up over the years, Plymouth is now experiencing the same wonder.

“To a lot of referees, it’s more than a job,” she said. “We look at it as a career. It about representation of yourself and making sure you’re respectable, approachable and fair. It makes you a mentor, not only to your fellow referees but also to the kids.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.

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